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The conversation with Mrs. Lambert went pretty much the same way, the syrupy concern and the doting questions, all of which drove me mad. I couldn’t wait to get out of school and go home where it was quiet and I could lose myself in video games.
“Now Nick, you can’t keep everything in,” Mrs. Lambert said, her ancient bouffant hair bobbed with the shake of her head like one of those funky bobble-head dolls you see on some people’s dashboards.
I had to bite my lip to keep the laugh from rolling out and she mistook the gesture as a sign of despair, and she reached across the space, laying her wrinkled hand on top of mine.
“There, there,” she said, and before she could say another word, the school bell rang and I didn’t wait for her to dismiss me. Instead, I scooped up my book bag and high tailed it to the bus without a second look back.
I never thought the vinyl-clad bench would feel so good, so free, as it did today and I closed my eyes, letting my body melt into the seat for the half-hour ride home.
“Nick?” Julia’s voice interrupted the stupor I had fallen into.
I opened my eyes to her soft brown eyes so full of worry that I had to smile.
“Scoot over so I can sit down,” she said, shooing me aside. When she settled in the seat, she turned toward me. “Are you really okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I just needed to get away from the school.” I leaned over and kissed her warm cheek, catching the sweet scent of strawberry shampoo. My stomach dropped through the floor from the rush I always get when my lips touch her skin.
Her cheeks flushed and I leaned back, studying the red hue and her almost shy smile. She settled back in the seat and took my hand for the remainder of the ride.
I closed my eyes, remembering the first time I saw her. The moving truck pulled away from the house next door and there she was, this little princess dribbling a soccer ball across the yard with her long golden hair flowing in the breeze behind her. And all I could think was, smoking hot.
I snuck a peek at her. She’s still smoking hot after five years and she’s all mine.